


Home for Christmas (only if it's with you)

by Marsupeler



Series: Tiny Supreme Family [8]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Bisexual Stephen Strange, Bisexual Tony Stark, Christmas family get together, De-Aged!Tony Stark, De-aged!Peter Parker, De-aged!Stephen Strange, Gets wholesome later on, Homophobia, Iron!Dad, M/M, Peter will protecc his fam, Pink haired Tony, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Stephen Strange, Protective Tony Stark, Road Trip, Road to exceptance, Stephen Strange's family, Stephen will protecc Tony and Peter, Supreme!Family, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony is a bicon, Tony wears Mascara, spider!son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-21 20:00:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17049650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marsupeler/pseuds/Marsupeler
Summary: Tony, Stephen, and Peter go to the Strange Family Christmas party for a week. And things turn sour real quickly, if Christmas  has a say in it, everything will turn out just fine. Because here at SI we believe in a wholesome hallmark level Christmas story... plus the usual dosage of angst.





	1. A long road ahead

**Author's Note:**

> Story was prompted by Nantelm - Can I request if They are celebrating Christmas?... And yes you can Nantelm.
> 
> I'm also taking inspiration form IronStrange Central (https://incorrect-ironstrange.tumblr.com/) I only know their tumblr, but I know they have an AO3 account... so if this has some similar attributes to their IronStrange Story.

"You lived in Nebraska?" Tony laughed as he drove them towards a family Christmas that Stephen didn't really want to go to. The last time he saw his family was when he and Christine had first dated during during the end of his med-schooling. It was actually a Christmas party as well. He wasn't even sure if they knew about his hands, or that he wasn't a successful neurosurgeon anymore. His wiki page only mentioned that he had a car accident briefly, never going into detail. He had looked it up a few days ago, so he would know exactly what his family knew about him. It wasn't much. His page mostly talked about his time as a doctor, and sure a tidbit as him learning about the mystics arts. It had nothing that insinuated that he was the Sorcerer Supreme that protected the whole fabric of this reality. It didn't even say that he was dating Tony Stark, just said he was in a relationship with a kid. It was so annoyingly vague.

"I'm surprised you didn't know that. I heard stories of the Great Tony Stark never letting anyone into his personal bubble without hours of dedicated research." Stephen stuck out his tongue in the end, looking at his boyfriend. His eyelashes red and green for the holidays. How this man turned from barely knowing the names of his make-up artists, to making them look like absolute amateurs in less than a month, astonished Stephen. Though, he was dating a stubborn genius that had to be the best in everything he decided to get into.

"You came to me first, Babe. And then I didn't really have time in space. And I was too busy trying to get back to Earth, not die, and save the world to remember that I didn't know every last bit of info on a hot wizard. And then... I didn't care once I got you back." Tony smiled softly, only to honk his horn, yelling at the car in front of them. "Get out of the fast-lane you Grandma!" Stephen let out a laugh, leaning in and kissing Tony on the cheek. Not too hard as to distract the driver, but enough to calm the teen down.

Stephen glanced at the back seat. Peter was strapped into his car-seat. Gold-fish cracker crumbs and forgotten fruit snacks littered the floor and seats around him. His little legs dangling in the air, and a stuffed penguin clutched in his arms. The child himself had dozed off to the slight hum and vibrations of the car making it's way cross-country. It would take them at least two days to make, with multiple stops for food and bathroom breaks.

It wasn't like they couldn't have taken a plane to Nebraska, but then again, since they looked highly young, and their IDs marked them down at being their physical age and not their literal age. Well, they couldn't exactly rent a car, because they weren't 25 years old. Then that would mean trying to coordinate getting rides from his family, and Stephen just didn't want to deal with the trouble. Of course he could have made a portal for them to just step out into the home of the Strange family. Tony had smashed the idea to pieces.

"We should have a family road trip." Tony practically vibrated when they were planning to go to Nebraska a week earlier. After going to Walmart with May, Tony was much more willing to do things he's never done before. He even started to make a written journaled list of the things normal people did that he never got to do. It's called the 'Peasant's Bucket List'. Peter had given him a lot of ideas. And by that, Peter had just told Tony what he had done on his every day life for his first sixteen years of living, and Tony wrote it down in a bullet-point format in a small pocket journal. And Stephen couldn't physically say 'no' to Tony for something that didn't effect his well being in a negative way. So here they were, driving in Tony's red convertible that had or 'STRK-8' if you went with the license plate, suitcases in the trunk, and a long road in front of them.

They played car games. Peter won most of the ones that had to do with sight. Like the alphabet game, he could see the script on the road signs before Stephen or Tony could, calling off the letter, and there for making it void to the others. Eye-Spy was a little hard. Peter's enhanced sight, he could see about a fifty colors that normal human eyes couldn't actually perceive, so when Tony said 'bright red', Peter argued that it was 'dull magenta' till he had to stop for breath. It was clearly a bright red though. That got them on a topic how normal people basically had dog sight compared to Peter, which made him the superior. Stephen conjured a flower crown for the kid to signify this fact.

They sang random car-trip songs, just so Tony could get the whole experience. 99 bottles of beer on the wall became a challenge to see who could keep track of the numbers without hesitating or repeating. Stephen dropped out on number 67. Peter gave Tony a good run for his money, but failed at number 13. Tony finished.

"And who said counting down a panic attack wasn't useful?" Tony laughed.

"Uh, I don't think - You do you, Sweetie." Stephen rubbed his forehead, looking out at the landscapes flying by.

"Heck yeah I do!"

Gas was a thing. A thing Tony had forgotten about once, and Stephen had to portal their car into the closest gas station before they could break down. And by Closest Gas-station, he means he knocked out six hours with a wave of his hand. Road trips were fun and all, but his legs were cramping, and he wanted to just get there already, but not too soon to ruin Tony's fun.

They stopped at a cute little diner in Illinois as the sun started to fade from the sky. Their hotel just a few miles from this place. Their waitress was a young female, who came to their table and froze.

"Y-your Tony Stark." She breathed, looking at his hair and his make-up which had slightly faded as the day wore on. Usually these were the things that had people recognize the famous man. But the younger generations seemed to be able to pin-point him as if he were a needle being suspended above a hay-stack with a halo and angelic singing. Or he had a neon sign above him that screamed 'I AM TONY STARK'.

"Yes." Tony nodded. "And can I have the blueberry pancakes?"

"Uh, ye-yeah, just th-the pancakes or would you like eggs and bacon or sausage with that?" The girl straighten up a little more, taking down the order.

"Which is more 'road-trippy'?" Tony turned to Stephen, eyes narrowed, needing the answer.

"That's not how road-trips work, Tony. Just get what you want." Stephen laughed.

"Then I'll get, mmmh, scrambled eggs and bacon." Tony grinned. "And coffee."

"No, He'll have hot-chocolate, same for me and Peter." Stephen interjected. "I'll also have pancakes, with eggs, over-easy, and sausage."

"And I want Chocolate-chip Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and hash-browns, please." Peter asked shyly from his spot, boosted up by one of those child's seats. The waitress, Emma as her name tag states, cooed at Peter.

"I'll get that right out for you, cutie." She walked to the kitchen area. It took three seconds to hear high pitched screams of elation and jealousy. Then a bunch of heads stuck out of the kitchen, all looking at their table before their boss came in and pulled them back into working.

"But the coffee." Tony protested.

"It's going on nine in the afternoon. You'll be up all night and be miserable in the morning. I'm not being in a cramped space with a miserable, sleep-deprived Tony." Stephen answered, cupping Tony's cheek from across the table."

"We can get coffee in the morning." Peter grinned from his seat next to Stephen.

"And by 'we' you mean me and Steph. You're heart beats fast enough without added strain, kiddo." Tony said, sending Peter a look.

"No fair. I have human rights, and this goes against them." Peter pouted. Emma came up to their table with the cups of hot chocolate topped high with whipped cream and bits of peppermint on top. Stephen grabbed Peter's cup before he could take it.

"I'm sorry, but can you make this one without peppermint. He's allergic." Stephen asked Emma. "I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, I didn't notice the addition."

"Oh, no problem. We only do this on Christmas, so it's not on the menus." She took the cup back to the kitchen, coming out a second later with a new one, this time no peppermint.

"How did you know I was allergic?" Peter asked, looking at Stephen as if one of his powers were mind reading.

"I lived on a farm, we used it to ward of spiders all the time." Stephen explained. "And since you can't thermo-regulate, like an arachnid. It was to be assumed, you don't tolerate Peppermint either."

"Far point." Peter nodded, taking a slow sip out of his child-safe cup, grinning at the warmth that it provided to him.

"You didn't only grow up in Nebraska, but a farm too?" Tony gaped. "Did you have cows? Can you ride a horse? Can I ride a horse? We can ride horses and then frolic in fields or some weird couple-shit. WITH FLOWERS!"

"First of all, it's the middle of winter. There will be no flowers. Yes, I used to ride a horse. I don't know if my parents have any horses anymore. As for cows, we had two, Daisy and Lilac, but they're long gone." Stephen answered. Tony looked at his napkin-folded silverware, disappointment radiating off of his demeanor. Stephen sighed, looking at the person he loved the most in the world, and he had to pick a dramatic one. "But if we do have horses, I don't see why we couldn't ride them."

"Do you know how to ride a horse, Dad?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, it's been like 5-ever, but MIT has an equestrian team, and all the girls back then loved a guy that could ride both kinds of mustangs. I never really did any of the sport competitions though, Howard never thought that anything that didn't further SI was important, so I had to keep it on the down low." Tony's good mood turned sour, as it always did, especially now that he was so much younger, when he talked about his father. Stephen and his parents may have some differences, but he never outright hated them, just heavily disliked and didn't believe in their views of life. Especially now.

"Can you teach me how to ride a horse?" Peter asked. "I could learn to do tricks, and then run away to join a circus to follow my mother's footsteps, like in Spirit."

"What?" Both men asked, turning to their son with highly confused faces. Peter blushed, hunching in his seat a little.

"Mr. Bucky and I are watching it. It's a kid's show about a girl and a horse. It's set in the old west, frontier land, and in season 2, she joins a circus?" Peter explained.

"I thought your mom worked for SHIELD?" Tony asked.

"It was, uh, a joke?" Peter fiddled with the sleeve of his straw.

"I'll teach you how to ride a horse if you promise not to run away and join the circus of all things." Stephen said as Emma walked back over to their table, passing out their food. It took a second to realize that she hadn't left.

"I, uh... You two are just a real inspiration to today's youth and culture. I mean, you were always an inspiration, cause Iron-man. But now it's so much more than that. You're Iron-man, but also were mascara and pink hair, and rock it. And your relationship is so open, and shows everyone that you can be who you are and not care. Like me and my sister forget all the time that you guys are supposed to be like the same age as our dad. But like, every time I find something about you on the news, I just can't help but feel the need to protect you. - I just... I just wanted to tell you how thankful I am. You helped my friend to confront their parents about who they are, and give a lot of people courage. Even though you aren't Iron-man any more, you still save people... Also can I get a picture, Abby, my sister, wouldn't believe that I meet you." Emma said, holding her breath. Tony felt a blush rise to his cheeks as this girl complimented and said such nice things about him. It's been a while since that happened. Sure it happened, but not like this. He felt his heart tighten at his waitress's words.

"Yeah, I don't mind." Tony whispered, but it was loud enough for Emma to hear, she looked at Stephen and Peter, addressing the question to them as well. They both nodded. The pictures were taken, just a few of them, but it made the girl over the moon. She went back to the kitchen, and the excited squeals were heard again.

"She seems nice." Peter said, going back to his pancakes. Tony nodded, throwing an additional pancake on Peter's plate, Stephen did the same. They ate in mostly silence. Emma came a few more times to fill up their drinks. The hot chocolate wasn't exactly a 'free refill', but then again Tony was a billionaire, so it didn't hurt to get a few more cups of liquid goodness.

"You didn't have to give her a hundred dollar tip." Stephen said as he drove them to their hotel.

"I know, It should have been more, but I didn't have anymore cash on me." Tony wiped his eyes. He was getting emotional in his youth, it wasn't fair. Why couldn't he be the heartless prick like he once was? His mascara wouldn't run as much then. "I should make an event to celebrate people and their differences." Tony declared.

"It's called Pride. There's a month for it, it's July. There are a bunch of parades and we can go to them, when the time comes." Stephen turned into their hotel. As Tony got Peter and their small 'go-bags' out of the car, Stephen got the keys to their room. It was single room with a queen. They showered, changed, brushed teeth, and fell into bed. Peter texted May a good night, telling her that they were alright and having fun. And even though it was only ten-thirty by the time they settled down, Peter between the two teens. All of them were passed out from the long trip, and they still had a full day a head of them.

The next day was much the same. Except Stephen was driving. He was actually a highly cautious driver since after his accident. He sped, but always got nervous when changing lanes or passing a vehicle. Even though Stephen had allowed Tony to consume caffeine, it seemed to not be kicking in. The teen was slumped in the passenger seat, softly snoring. Rihanna playing softly, filling up the car with noise. Peter was in the back, lazily flipping throw his phone or doodling in his coloring book. Stephen would get the kid a sketchbook in the near future. He seemed more interested making his own ideas and doodles than actually filling in the images on the pages. Though, every once in a while there would be a crudely colored picture. This concerned the neurosurgeon part of Stephen's brain. He wondered if there were times when Peter's consciousness actually did slip into the younger state that his body was in. Or maybe Peter just got bored, and sometimes acted more childish out of spite to the universe. He'd have to ask Peter at some point, but the thought of it being the former scared Stephen. It meant that he and Tony could very well slip too, forgetting about their old life, and possibly even each other.

Tony woke up a few hours later as they were stopped at a gas-station. They were all still wearing their PJs, not seeing the point in changing into anything that could make their uncomfortable ride that much more unpleasant. Tony tried to insist on driving again, but Stephen wouldn't let him, seeing as he had drove the whole day yesterday.

"When will we get there?" Peter shifted in his seat, growing agitated. He was bored, and the seat was so uncomfortable, chaffing is small body. His cup had fallen to the floor, and he couldn't reach it. His red crayon broke. The sun was gleaming right into this window. The constant sound of the engine was giving him a migraine. And the vibrations churned his stomach, making him nauseated.

"Five more minutes, Baby." Tony said. It was more like five hours, but the look Tony gave the Sorcerer was clear. He had to make the trip go from five hours to minutes, or they would have a very upset, cranky super-child on their hands. The last time they had an upset, cranky super-child on their hands ended up bad. Just very, very bad. Stephen was pretty sure they were still trying to get the fork out of the wall.

Stephen took the next exit, and found them a lonely little road to open a portal to a minute away from his parent's house. He made sure there were no cars around him, and Tony had to hold the steering wheel has he used his sling ring. It was much easier when Tony was driving to do this, but they made it fine. Peter gave both of the teens a shitty look.

"You could have said the actual time. I could have taken it." Peter grumbled.

"You think I did this because of you? Cutie-pie, I was going stir crazy. I'm a weak man, I would have never lasted the full ride." Tony threw his hands up dramatically, having them come down and squish Peter's cheeks before going back to unbuckle Peter from his deathtrap. "I'm just too proud to ask. So thank you, kiddo."

They crawled out of the back seat to come face to face with a fifty year old man with a scruffy beard and graying hair. His plaid shirt and muddy jeans screamed 'I LIVE ON A FARM'.

"Victor. Nice to see you again." Stephen stepped forward, breaking the awkward staring contest. "This is my boyfriend, Tony, and his son Peter." Victor looked at Stephen with a strange expression. It took Stephen a moment for it to click. "It's Stephen."

"I knew that. I was just shocked. You look so young." Victor shook his shock away, pulling the wizard into a tight hug. Stephen grumbled at this, uncomfortably patting the older man on the back, signifying that the hug was over. "And you have a boyfriend. That's also... new."

"This is Tony." Tony gave a wave, and his famous press-worthy smile.

"Well, it's nice to meet y'all." Victor said, sticking out his hand. Tony took it, and was brought in a crushing hug, luckily it didn't hurt Peter. Though, Tony stiffened, looking for Stephen for back up. How do you get out of this? He's never been hugged so unsolicited.

"Vic, I think that's enough. Tony's not really a hugger." Stephen said, patting his brother on the shoulder. Luckily the man stepped away. He turned his eyes on Peter, who's eyes widened and he shrunk into Tony.

"It's nice to meet a handsome young man like yourself." Victor ruffled Peter's hair, before taking most of their luggage. "Come on in, Mom and Pop will be excited you actually came."


	2. Not asking for approval, just civility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen's family doesn't approve of the new life he leads. Their old fashioned country folk. Heads get butted in the beginning, but Stephen just wants a nice time for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things. Any medical advise, names, or descriptions I through in from here on out, including this chapter, new chapters on their way, and even knew stories to come... I do a bit of research, but nothing extravagant, so it might not be 100% accurate. - Just so you know. 
> 
> Also HOMOPHOBIA is a thing in this story. Not too harsh, but more like slightly above, under the table... I put it in the tags, but you have been notified!

The initial shock of their son not being the forty-looking year old man that they had pictured in their minds was quickly dissolved. Mrs. and Mr. Strange was just glad that they could have a Christmas with their whole family once more. Stephen could see the tick of their features as he introduced them to Tony, they also didn't seem too pleased that Tony already had a child. Though they kept their thoughts to themselves. Something that allowed Stephen to breathe easier. They still had a whole week of this how ever.

"Why does Peter have those tubes on him?" Stephen's dad, Eugene, asked. "You know, I read about some where that parents now-days give their kids any kinda illness and health issue on the face of the planet, all cause the internet." The older man went to take out Peter's oxygen, the kid stepping hiding behind Tony's legs. Tony stepped in front of the toddler, looking at the older man. He was nearing his seventies, but still looked fit enough to do what ever farmers did.

"Peter was born with chronic, long-term Hypoxemia. His body doesn't allow enough oxygen into his blood stream, which without those tubes can and will prove fatal. I suggest not touching them." Stephen said pointedly, looking at his father. It wasn't exactly the truth, but they didn't need to know that Peter was enhanced in anyway.

"Poor thing." Stephen's mom, Beverly, picked up Peter from Tony's blind spot, holding the child close to her plump form. She pinched his cheeks, make him jerk back, scowling at the woman. Beverly popped Peter on the cheek.

"Hey, don't hit my kid." Tony snatched Peter from the woman's arms, holding his close to his chest. Both boys ready to fight their way out of a 'family' environment. This wasn't what they knew.

"You should teach your kid that it's rude to scowl." Eugene grunted.

"You should teach your wife that it's rude to pinch." Tony bristled, the hairs on the back of his neck standing as he was ready to throw down with these elderly people. Was it even legal to be that old?

"Oh, Stephen's here." Donna, the last to Stephen's immediate family, his younger, 35 year old sister came down the stairs, breaking up the tension that had arose. She was the only one that Stephen actually kept in contact with. He had almost lost her once, he wasn't going to let her out of his sights again. So she pretty much knew the whole regression, boyfriend, child thing Stephen had going on. "Oh, I heard about Stark getting a new look, but it looks so much more amazing in person. I'm Donna, by the way. It's so nice to meet you."

"Stark?" Victor whispered. "Tony Stark? You're dating Iron-man. The ass that ran the greatest thing that happened to our country out of it. And you brought him here?"

"Tony turned away from Donna gushing over how amazing he looked, and how cute Peter was, with absolutely no touching, because she knew what boundaries were. Seemed like that only ran through two of the Stranges. He turned to Victor with the darkest look, but not dark enough for Peter's tastes, who's face was down right murderous.

"The greatest thing that happened to this country? I hope to Thor you aren't talking about Steve Rogers. Because let me tell you something, Victor." Peter said in a terrifying voice. Even though he was still being held in Tony's arms, wearing a puppy-dog eared hoodie, and Spider-man PJ pants, he still emitted death and destruction itself from his tiny form. "Steve Rogers is a no good man, who only believes in something if it fits into his own agenda and ideas. He's a blind fool and anyone who thinks he is so great is also a blind fool. And yes, Dr. Dad is dating Dad, because they are damn good for each other, and if I see anyone trying to convince either of them to break up, then I will personalty undo your entire life, leaving nothing but a scrape of cloth and a burnt piece of bread to live out the last of your miserable days."

"Cutie-pie, you can't threaten people like that." Tony hiked Peter higher on his hip. And the atmosphere went from dark to light on the drop of a hat. Victor looked over at his parents, all three of them not actually sure what had happened. They knew they shouldn't be scared of a pipsqueak, but his words didn't have an ounce of doubt in them.

"Yeah, I can, I just did." Peter sassed. He giggled as Tony pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"But, yeah, this is Tony Stark, my boyfriend. We on Thanos's space ship, on the way to save the universe from Thanos?" Stephen said, looking at Donna as she burst into laughter. "And that's Peter, his son."

"I didn't know Tony Stark had a son. Or pink hair. Or was homosexual." Eugene said in a tight voice. "I didn't know that you were homosexual either, Stephen."

"We're bisexual actually." Tony pipped up, but from a look from Stephen, he shrunk back down. "Not that it's very important right now. I'll just, Donna, wanna show me and Peter to our rooms?"

"What a great idea." Donna said, grabbing the suitcases and walking down a hallway. Tony and Peter followed, leaving Stephen alone with his family.

"Fifteen minutes. You couldn't go Fifteen minutes without making them feel uncomfortable? This is why I never want to come here. But to be honest, I didn't think you would last five minutes. So I guess congratulations on being a slightly less overbearing than I thought you would be." Stephen snapped, glaring at his parents. "The only reason that I even came here was because I thought that after all these years you would have changed."

"What, like you changed, Steph?" Victor asked. "What happened to that nice girl, Christine?"

"We broke up. Again, and again. I thought you hated her. Called her a ritzy, gold-digging bitch, if I recall correctly. And I always do." Stephen shot back.

"Better than play-boy, alcoholic that shouldn't be anywhere near children. You do know he's slept with about ever woman in New York? At least that's what the tabloids say." Victor growled back. "And she was a gold-digger. You had more money, and she had nothing, so she conned you."

"Then I'm a gold digger too. Tony has more money that I could have ever had, and I have nothing now. I don't even have a house! I literally use Tony's bank account for everything." Stephen shot, defending both of his relationships. Because even though he didn't love Christine that way, she was still his friend, and he had loved her.

"What happened to your doctoring?" Beverly asked.

"I got into a major car accident, and my hands got crushed." He held out his shaking, scarred fingers. "And then I became the Sorcerer Supreme, which sure, saves reality as we know it, but doesn't pay worth shit."

"You could have come to us if you needed help, not get a sugar daddy that will only use you in the end." Beverly sighed, holding her son's hands in her own. "We could have given you a home here."

"Wait, so how is Christine a Gold-Digger and I'm not?" Stephen pulled his hands away from his mother's. "And if anything, Tony is too socially awkward to be a sugar-daddy. He gets too anxious trying to pick out a pair of socks from Amazon to bother with trying to buy me things on his own. It's why I hold all his cards."

"Because you're our son. You're better than all these people. You should settle down, make a family for yourself, with a wife and a kid of your own. Not hot-pink bisexual man and his broken kid." Eugene insisted.

"First off, I did find a family, with Tony and Peter. And this is the only time I'm saying it. Another outburst like that, and I'm leaving. I'm taking my family, and I'll cut you right out of my life, for good. We're having problems at home with Rogers and his team coming back to the states. I only came because it would get those two away from all the drama. I don't need drama here. So let's have a Christmas. One where you don't scrutinize every good thing about my life, just because it doesn't fit into your idea of an after-life." Stephen took a deep breath calming himself down.

"Alright. I don't think it's right, but you are obviously not going to change your mind." Beverly sighed. "So we will do as you wish, and be polite." Stephen looked at his father, who nodded his head reluctantly, then glared at Victor.

"I'll be nice, but I won't be happy about it." Victor said before turning to go out of the house.


	3. Extended Family Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More family arrives, because Christmas. And they meet the Supreme Family, for better or for worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not a doctor, web search is the best doctor-ish I can get... If I offend or get something wrong, I apologies!
> 
> Also the same thing goes for anything science related.

As the day wore on, more people arrived. Aunts and Uncles, cousins, nephews. It wasn't even Christmas eve yet, and the house was packed. Sure, it was the eve of Christmas eve, but that didn't mean everyone had to just come. Luckily this house was build for large families, so it wasn't like they didn't have space. Explaining about the Time-stone Explosion and that yes, that was Tony Stark was getting a bit old. Why couldn't anyone just have watched the press conference they put on months ago? It was detailed, and Stephen didn't have to do the explaining.

"So, neither of you can have alcohol now?" Bridget, a cousin, laughed. She was about the same age as Stephen should be, and always had a bottle in hand. "Wasn't Stark a grade 'A' alcoholic at one point?"

"Yeah five years ago." Tony said. "And I stopped because it became a major problem in my life. Now, I don't drink at all."

"Show me chips and I'll believe ya." Samuel, Nephew, 25, asked.

Tony turned to the man, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small coin with a roman numeral '4' in the center of a triangle, the Sobriety words stamped on the button. Stephen only sees it come out in the open if Tony's having a bad day, and the help from alcohol would just make it this much less daunting. Not that Tony goes to an AA meeting, it's more between him and his therapist.

"Believe me now?" Tony said, a frown etching his face.

"What about you Steph, you a man and drink?" Victor asked, trying hand Stephen a 'cold one'.

"Once, and I almost got trapped in a never ending void of pain and nothing." Stephen pushed the drink away. "And that wasn't symbolic."

"Oh, post-battle party where you decided it was a good idea to throw everyone into the nightmare realm? Yeah, he doesn't drink either." Tony snorted. He glanced over where Peter was, being forced to play with the other children. He was being nice, but it appeared more like a teenager entertaining a room of children, and technically thats what it was. The only problem was, he was getting weird looks from the adults, because four year olds usually aren't content in 'reluctantly playing along', more in 'taking over the scene'. Tony was going to have to get Peter something really cool to make up for all of this, he could feel it.

"So if you're a wizard. How many rabbits can you pull out of a hat?" Jefferson, most unliked uncle, sixty-three. He was in a wheel-chair, and has been a old rat since the day he was born. He was one of those old people that would do something bad, and blame it on a child. It is the main reason that Stephen made Peter go in the other room. Stephen didn't like his family. He can play pleasantries till the day he dies, but it a struggle.

"It's not for tricks. And I'm not a wizard. I'm a Sorcerer." Stephen blew out some hair from his face.

"So you can't do anything?" Jefferson cackled. Stephen looked the man straight in the eyes. He lifted his hand, and golden wisps stretched out from his hands, making a ball before disappearing. In his hand was an ace of spades.

"Is this your card?" Stephen's lips quirked up. He threw the card at Jefferson, and it burst into butterflies which all seemed to be gravitated to Tony, landing on his fingertips and nose. One settled gently into his hair, turning into metal and becoming a hairpin. The others vanished in a puff of glitter blue smoke.

"You've become so girly, Steph." Victor sighed.

"Gender assigning is bad. Butterflies are a useful insect to the world's environment. With out them a third of our flower population would be gone, since bees are rapidly disappearing. That means in the next generations there will be no plants, and thus no more oxygen to sustain any life on the planet." Peter said as he walked over to Tony. "I'm hungry, and Mrs. Beverly keeps taking away my food." Tony nodded, picking up Peter and leaving. Stephen wanted to go with them, but this wasn't like in the compound, these were just normal people. Tony could handle himself and Peter.

"You have a very articulate kid." Janet, Bridget's lawyer of a twin, spoke up.

"Is he autistic? Cause I have friend who's kid is autistic and as smart as a whistle. Top of his class, but don't know social skills, and can't compute like the rest of 'em." Bridget asked.

"No, Peter isn't autistic. He's just smart and anti-social." Stephen explained. He'd go into the whole, Autism is a disorder stemmed from the mind at early ages of life, it's their nature. While Peter's odd behavior is a nurture thing - sixteen years of the universe shitting on him. Stephen would be smart and anti-social too. He is smart and anti-social, just at an age that it's not odd. He could explain all of this, but it would go over everyone's head. Maybe not Janet's, or Hector who was an actually psychiatrist, but oh well.

The conversation changed from Stephen and on to Hector's family and his work. It seemed like forever until Beverly called everyone to the tables. Peter was demoted to the 'kids' table. Something Tony and Peter had never actually seen before.

"I thought that was something Hollywood made up to embarrassed and scar children." Tony said to Stephen, looking at the lower table, filled with about six children and two teens. Tony held Peter close to him.

"People actually do that to their kids?" Peter gulped. "Isn't it a mark of being lesser?" Stephen forgets that both of his boys came from small, ever dwindling families.

"Even the little genius get's it." Kathryn, age sixteen, scowled.

"And he's going to have to sit here like the rest of you." Beverly said, she didn't try to pluck Peter away from Tony. It took her three times to get throw her mind that neither Peter nor Tony were tactical people to practical strangers - or people they heavily disliked. Beverly was considered both.

"A new experience for the peasant book." Tony shrugged, placing Peter in the last multi-colored plastic chair.

"I get coffee in the morning for this." Peter growled under his breath. "Real coffee, none of that decaf-shit you tried giving me last week."

"I'll think about it." Tony turned back to the adult table, shooting Stephen a pleading look. Oh goodness, the wizard was going to have to be the bad-dad and make the coffee decaf. Stephen could hear Donna mutter 'whipped' under her breath. She really was the only saving grace he had in the family. Sure Kathryn and her year younger brother, Phillip, where all for Tony and Stephen's views of the world. Mostly because they were famous, all powerful superheroes that have enough power to decimate more than just half of the universe. Quote-unquote by Phillip. But they sat at the kid's table, and Peter was right, it did signify that they were 'lesser'.

The food looked delicious, as it has always been. It was simple, a few large pans of Lasagna and a few large bowls of salad with multiple different dressings scattered across the table. Simple, yet something everyone liked. It was one thing that Stephen missed, a good home-cooked meal. Of course before anyone started eating, Eugene clasped his hands, about to pray. Both Tony looked startled at this. Peter had been to his fair share of churches. Ben had been religious. Aunt May stopped going when he died. So it wasn't too shocking. Peter just didn't believe in the after-life, neither did Tony. And Stephen, well, Stephen had been raised like this. Every Sunday being dragged to mass in Victor's old suit that was just this side of too large. He was a man of medicine and science, and also a man of mystic arts.

The 'amen' couldn't have come quicker for the small family, as they let out a breath they were all holding. The food tasted amazing, and Tony said so, at least twice.

"So, Tony, what do you actually do for a living. I mean, I know you have that company, but what's your rule in it, other than getting all the money?" Janet asked, pushing up her glasses.

"Oh, uh, I'm an inventor. Really Pepper does all the business-y things. She was the one that majored in business, so it made sense. I'm more of the engineer and mechanic that she bosses around to give new ideas or help the other scientists and R&D personnel in our facilities. I also work closely with the UN and Accord Council to give technical support to the New Avengers, since I stepped down as Iron Man earlier this year." Tony explained.

"Ever since you stopped the weapon manufacturing of your company, what do you make? Like, how is Stark Industries still going?" Victor asked.

"Mostly it's scientific discoveries. We work along a lot of medical facilities so they can better help people heal. We're researching a way to bring safe, green energy to the public. Plus, we dabble in house hold tech, like cellphones, computers, microwaves. Making things more accessible to the lower classes so they have the same opportunities as everyone else. Actually, Stark Industries as never been more of a success than it is in recent years."

"Microwaves?" Bridget let out a laugh.

"You'd be surprised, but there's a lot of people at the Compound that forget to take spoons out of their noodles before putting it in the microwave. It gets pricey after replacing the thirteenth appliance." Stephen interjected.

"So, you said earlier that you hold all the bank accounts." Victor asked. "Why is that?"

"The last time Tony had full, unmonitored access to his money, bought thirty pounds of frozen waffles and enough syrup to fill a Canadian forest." Laughs erupted from the table.

"No way, why?" Hannah, one of Stephen's aunts, asked.

"It was for science. I hadn't slept for three days, and it sounded like a good team-bonding exercise. There are about three to four people with metabolisms that run faster than the average human at the compound at all times, especially with the Rogues back. So I needed a lot of waffles and syrup to see who had the hardier Metabolism." Tony explained.

"So who won?" Bridget asked.

"Oh, Stephen declined the order before the waffles arrived." Tony shrugged. "But to who has the hardier metabolism, I believe it's Thor. Though I'm not completely sure if the guy just has multiple stomachs, because he's not a human. Or because he does in fact have a heightened Metabolism. Because his healing factor isn't that off from a humans, while Roger's and Barnes's healing factors are faster. But Spider-man's healing factor is off the charts. That guy gets shot and goes on with his life the next morning. However, the volume and area of his stomach and body are much smaller than the others. So he can't hold as much food. So instead of large meals, it's more like eating on the cons-" The room was silent, all looking at Tony with confused expressions. Tony blushed. "Uh, But yeah, the waffles never came, and Stephen took away my cards."

The dinner resumed with light chatter. Tony talked to Janet, Hector, and Donna more than anyone else, since they were the only ones that seemed to understand more than a third of what Tony said. Stephen glanced at Peter, who was talking to Kathryn and Phillip. He seemed to be having a better time than he had when he was stuck with the actual little kids. Stephen discretely magicked some more food onto Peter's plate. No one on the kid's table seemed to notice, seeing as the whole place was a disaster of pasta and sauce, it was hard to tell the difference of what was already there and what was new. The kid looked up at Stephen with a relieved look. They had given the children smaller portions, because that's what you did with children who didn't have adult bodies. Tony and Bruce were still working on a food bar that had enough calories to keep up with Peter's metabolism, except then his metabolism would just work harder and make it go away faster. It was a slow process.

It was after dinner, when half the family was helping with clean up, and the other half was sitting around the house, chatting, or doing their own thing. Tony was on the couch, holding a drowsy Peter on his lap, flipping throw emails. Most of them was from SI and Pepper. But there were a few from Ms. Sarah. Those he clicked on with haste. One was about the confirmation on missing out on dinner with the Avengers, it was old. Another was about a mission that they had missed. Bucky had taken charge of being technical support with Ms. Sarah as supervisor. It was successful with little to no damages. The Council is pleased, and will deliberate on loosening Mr. Barnes's restrictions.

"It's only been a month." Peter muttered, reading the emails along with his dad.

"Bucky has always been a little different. Since he was still under the influence of HYDRA, none of this was his fault. And since he is showing the Accords that he has broken away from Rogers, and won't follow him blindly, then they don't see him as much as a flight risk as they had before." Tony explained. "The more gold stars he gets, the faster he can get out of his parole. Unlike the others, who have shown understanding and compensate in their actions in following Rogers. It's why Sam has to wait the whole six months before they allow him back on the field."

"I didn't realize there was such politics in Super-heroing." Hector noted.

"I thought everything was fine once Rogers and his team were welcomed back into the Avenger's Compound." Janet nodded. Tony shook his head.

"Um, when the Rogues evaded signing the Accords, and fought against me and my team, they were committing treason with 177 countries. They may speak about upholding the laws and what is right, but their actions spoke loudly. They said that if they didn't think that 177 countries knew better than their own six, individual minds, then they would not follow through." Tony explained. "They have to regain the faith of those countries and the public."

"Shouldn't risking their lives fighting that purple alien prove it?" Eugene asked, pointing his beer bottle at Tony.

"That's why they got the pardons. It's like cheating on your wife and apologizing with a grande gesture. Sure she's taken you back, but she's not going to believe for a second that you wouldn't do it again. Not until you prove it." Tony explained, dead looking Eugene in the eye. "Just with super-heroes and 177 countries."

"TruTH!" Phillip called from his spot on the floor. Tony went back to his emails. "Hey, how did you get the wifi? Nana Beverly won't give it up."

"Oh, I don't need Wifi, I'm connected everywhere." Tony tapped on his arch-reactor. Since his suit was always with him, the nanites were basically an infinite hot-spot.

"That's so cool." Phillip sat up. "Do you have to charge it every night?"

"No, the arch-reactor is a power source of it's own. It used to power a magnet so shrapnel wouldn't go into my heart. Now it powers the suit and a few heart machines, cause I'm damaged." Tony explained.

"I thought you said you stepped down from Iron-man. Why do you still have the suit?" Kathryn asked, turning to look at Tony from next to her brother, a book lay open in her lap.

"For protection. To protect my family. If there are anymore emergencies. To get Donuts without going through Traffic if Steph is out defending the realms from mystic evil." Tony shrugged.

"Please don't tell me you've done that before." Stephen asked as he walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands off with a towel, which he teleported back to its spot.

"Like you have room to talk, you take advantage of your abilities too." Tony stuck out his tongue, only for Stephen to bend over and capture his lips into a chaste kiss. There was a grunt off to the side, it was from Eugene. And one moment the family was seen, and the next, the three were gone, just vanished into thin air. They were still on the couch, just in the mirror dimension, having a moment of privacy.

"Hol' shit, tha' was so co'l." Bridget burped, drunken eyes unknowingly staring at Stephen and Tony. "Wh'r they go?"


	4. Road to acceptance (only in a truck that's fixed)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this is more wholesome than the other chapters.

The next day, December 24th, Christmas Eve, and Stephen and Tony were in the back of his dad's old truck going to retrieve the tree so they could decorate. The radio was playing holiday songs through the busted speakers, so it was crackly and only came up to a certain, almost inaudible volume.

Peter had been left behind, because Victor and Eugene wanted to spend the day with Stephen and Tony. Maybe not Tony so much, but Donna forced them to take the mechanic. Said mechanic was almost in tears at the decay of this vehicle. He kept wincing whenever the muffler popped, and bit his bottom lip when Victor rode the clutch. He even had to hold himself back when the stick-shift was being tugged and pushed as if Victor was having a battle with the thing. Honestly, Stephen was a little impressed Tony hadn't brought his concerns to the open. This didn't mean Eugene didn't see spasm Tony made every time the truck lurched forward or appeared like it was about to stall.

"It ain't the city life, is it, Mr. Stark? Not everything is new and silent. You'll have to get used to it for the next couple of days." Eugene smirked, thinking that he interpreted Tony's displeasure.

"Wow, didn't know that, Thanks, Mr. S." Tony rolled his eyes, flinching at a huge 'Ca-lunk' the truck made. "But holy shit, I thought farm people were supposed to be good at fixing machines."

"It's more like jimmy-rigging things up and hoping for the best." Stephen added, having his fair share of times helping his dad "fix" their machines because they weren't going to buy another one and "Money don't grow on trees, boy". "No one here is an actual mechanic."

"I am." Tony gasped. "Give me one afternoon and a toolbox, and I can get this girl purring like she was a day off the conveyor belt."

"You aren't touching my truck. I don't need you messing anything up." Eugene grunted from his spot in the front seat.

"I'm a licensed mechanic. I have PHDs for days in engineering. I'm not the one to mess up." Tony argued back.

"We aren't talking about fancy cars and a suit of shiny armor. This is a 1970 chevy. It's old and all it's parts are out of market. You'd have to fix what we got. and I don't think you can do it." Eugene said. "You're all about new toys, new tools, new products. This is old, need to use parts that's already been used. Can't open a box with a new shinin' part in it."

"Yeah, it's an old truck. I'm fifty, I was alive in the 1970s, I was fixing these cars when I was in diapers. Let me fix this one. It's in pain. I can help her." Tony insisted, placing an almost calming hand on the door of the truck, as if reassuring the vehicle that he'd take care of it. As if it were human. Stephen always thought it weird of Tony, to treat machines with such gentility and kindness. He loved it though. He loved the way Tony was patient with DUM.E and Butterfingers, even though he threatened them with selling them to colleges. It was more like a parent threatened their kid to sell them to the gypsies. An act of endearment.

"I tell you what, Mr. Hot-shot." Eugene said. "You think you can fix Ole' Daisy, then you'll earn my approval. Don't, and I will never approve of your relationship with my son, and you and your kid will have to go back to New York."

"You imply that I wouldn't go with them." Stephen pointed out, making it absolutely clear that he would go with Tony if Tony lost. Which he wouldn't. Sure, Stephen could stop this, it was ridiculous to even think Tony couldn't fix the car. Stephen might be the sorcerer, but when it came to fixing things, Tony had a sort of Magic to him.

"And you buy us a new truck." Victor added in, pulling into the Christmas tree shop.

"Deal." Tony said as they got out of the truck, clasping Eugene's hands.

"When we get back, you'll have until tomorrow to get her purring as you promised." Eugene let go of Tony's hand and they all went on their merry way to get a tree for the family-centric holiday. Stephen sighing, rubbing his head to get rid of the oncoming headache this day was becoming.

\-----

When they back to the house, Tony helped set up the tree before driving the truck into their garage and getting to work. In all honesty he looked like a kid on Christmas. He hadn't been able to get his hands on a project like this since the Rogues got back. It'll do him some good to distress and get greasy for once.

Peter ran up to Stephen covered in six different kinds of cookie dough and icing and sprinkles, and even a few eggshells.

"We made cookies." Peter grinned.

"I can see that." Stephen waved his hands and Peter became clean. He then picked up the kid, setting him on his hip and walking into the kitchen, the strong smell of burnt cookies was strong, and even the last visages of smokey whispers curled through the air from the trashcan.

"Not all of them were good bakes." Peter explained.

"That kid of yours is hilarious." Beverly said as she caught Stephen's eyes. "I don't know how a four year old knows as much as he does. But if he isn't a cutie, then I don't know what is."

"We were only gone for an hour." Stephen looked down at Peter.

"Speaking of, where's dad and Tony?" Donna asked.

"Working on the truck. Well, dad's supervising, making sure nothing gets destroyed." Victor grunted as he walked into the kitchen.

"Him and Tony finally bonding?" Donna asked, a surprise smile stretching on her face.

"More like trying to prove each other wrong." Stephen stomped on her dreams.

"Great. Well, we have some non-burnt cookies on the dining table, grab a few if you want. I'll take lil' Peter back with me." Beverly plucked Peter into her arms and went back to the stove where even more cookies were waiting to be made.

"So what happened between mom and Peter. She doesn't seem so... unhappy with my life decisions." Stephen asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. He just started talking with mom. I think... I don't think she's going to be 100% satisfied with you being with Tony. I think she was really wanting some grandchildren of her own. And Victor is getting old. And well, since the accident, I'm basically infertile. And when she found out you were in a pretty serious relationship. She clung to the idea of you having kids. And when she found out it was Tony, and Tony had a kid, but not yours. She wasn't happy." Donna explained, looking over at their mom laughing as Peter reeled back as more mess got on him. "Peter talks, he talks a lot. He talks about you and Tony. The life you gave him. How much you all love each other. I think she's realizing that... It might not be what she imagined, but it's still good."

"He's not the only one who talks a lot." A soft smile gracing Stephen's lips. And if in the garage, Tony rambled onto his dad about his life in the compound, mindlessly talking about Stephen and Peter. He probably didn't even know that he was talking. He's been hanging around Peter too much, each now talked a million miles an hour when doing anything, while doing nothing. They just spoke, calming words washing away the silence. Just the reassurance that one was near the other. And if Eugene started to relax bit by bit, watching as the crazed, hot-pink-haired not-teen crawl in and out of the engine of a 1970's chevy, then so be it.

\-----

Lunchtime came, but Tony nor Eugene surfaced, leaving Beverly and Stephen to take food to their respective Significant Other. Eugene was dozing in a chair as Tony's feet stuck out of the truck. Stephen used his foot to roll Tony back out into the open. Goggles were removed to show a reversed raccoon effect by grease and oil all over Tony's everywhere. His hair was matted and stained, his hands dirty as he picked up the simple sandwich that was made for everyone. Since tonight was going to be yet another huge feast. Beverly was waking her husband up, handing over his food.

"You'll get sick like that." Stephen sighed, waving his hand, cleaning his boyfriend just as he did with Peter.

"Says you. I'm pretty sure I've built up an immunity to grease, oil, diesel, and gasoline. I may have drunkenly drank on of DUM.E's smoothies not meant for human consumption... more than once." Tony chuckled, taking another bite of the sandwich.

"How you're still alive baffles me." Stephen shook his head. "So how is it going in here?"

"Making real progress." Tony smirked. Stephen couldn't tell if it was just for the truck or for the older man, most likely both.

\----

Word got around about the bet. A few people still wanted to send Tony and Peter home, arguing that they didn't belong, and they weren't Strange material. Peter laughed every time he heard this, arguing that they might be the only people that were made of 'strange material'. Stephen had to put a stop to it. It was a soar subject for a lot of them. High school was rough with a last name like that. However, there were quite a few willing to 'fight for the literal guy that saved the world' (Phillip and Kathryn) if Tony had lost. Not that they thought he had lost, of course.

Samuel, Victor, and Hector helped Eugene push the truck out of the garage to the driveway. They wouldn't let Tony touch it, just in case he made is 'weird and futuristic' where it only worked for him. Or he could make it work even though it was still very broken. Or something stupid like that.

"Alright, let's see if you fixed this beat up piece of shit." Victor humphed.

"You're not starting it." Tony grunted. "I saw you drive. You ride the breaks, and grind the clutch. You're the reason it took so long to fix."

"No one else knows how to drive stick." Victor argued.

"I know." Donna stepped forward. "I'll start it." Tony smirked, handing her the keys.

"If it don't purr, you're going home." Victor reminded. "And a new truck."

"And a new truck." Tony agreed, caked in grim and grease once more.

There was a tense moment as Donna put the key in, pressing down the break and turning said key. A tense moment, and then the truck came to life. No clunking, not popping of the muffler, no jolting. It wasn't a smooth purr, but it sounded so much better than what it had in a long time. Eugene nodded in approval, clapping Tony on the back.

"I guess I won't be getting that new truck." Eugene sighed. A lot of cheers burst from the crowd. As if it only took fixing a truck to turn everyone's minds around. Stephen knew that wasn't true. In the morning, in an hour, after the excitement dispersed, there will be people who didn't approve of Tony being here. But it's as if his dad's approval, reluctant and hard to get, but still, was all that was needed to get a foot in the door in many.

"Alright, we have a house to decorate." Beverly said in a laughing, cheerful tone, getting everyone back inside.

\----

"I can't reach it." Tony was on his tip-toes on the last rung of the ladder, trying to put the last string of lights up. He was so close, but still so far. "Hey, Stephen, wanna do some magic and make me a bit taller?"

"I could do you one better." In an instant, the red scarf that he had been wearing this whole time unfurled from his neck, and unfolded to reveal a cape, which attached to the teen's shoulders floating her up just a few more inches, allowing him to clip the lights into place.

"Can you still do that taller spell? Cause, I think I would only benefit from that, no matter what you say." Tony smiled as he floated back down to the ground. The cloak detached itself before zooming throw the crowd to catch Peter as he fell off of the counter, trying to steal a cookie.

"No, body modifications are risky and frowned upon." Stephen tapped Tony on the nose. "Plus I couldn't do this." He leaned down, capturing Tony's lips, picking him up at the same time. Tony let out a squeak, wrapping his legs around Stephen. There was a cat-call from around them as they broke apart. Kathryn smirked, holding her phone in a way that could only mean it was taking a video. A drunk Bridget was the cat-caller.

"The Mistletoe is on the other doorway, Stephen." Donna laughed, pointing to the holly-leafed kissing plant.

"Oops, guess we'll just have to go over there at one point." Tony smirked.

"There are children here." Peter shook his head. Laughter filled the room.

\-----

At the Strange family that had the Christmas feast late in the night of Christmas Eve. So all the kids were full and went into food commas and wouldn't stay up all night. Even though there weren't many young children anymore, it was a tradition that lived on. An all you can eat buffet-style of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, casserole of all kind, stuffing, buttery bread. You named it, it was there. The desserts were for tomorrow though. Think Thanksgiving, but more, much, much more.

Christmas music flooded each and every corner. The house was just so full of people, eating, talking, the muted disdain of yesterday was gone. No talk about politics or the Avengers. Only memories of past Christmases and happy times. The place felt warm.

Stephen could say this was one of the things he missed most when he decided not to come back. The sanctuary wasn't warm, just old and musty. Wong was good company, but as a friend and college. Karma-Taj felt like a boarding school, an oriental take on Hogwarts if you will, and everyone was so busy studying the mystic-arts, warmth wasn't really considered. He only ever felt this feel with Tony and Peter. The compound was cold. It was sterile, and business-like, but with those two, it felt like this. It felt like a Christmas dinner with family, some you liked, some you hated, some didn't approve, and some are starting too. But still warm, still good, still home. They were his home.

Stephen grabbed Tony's hand from under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. Tony glanced up, looking at Stephen, brown eyes up in a quirk of confusion. Stephen could only smile though, and Tony seemed to understand, squeezing back, smiling back, emitting warmth.


	5. Christmas DAY!!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title ^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoes - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/850054498393487175/
> 
> You'll understand later.

Christmas! The Big Day!

Stephen woke Tony up at an ungodly hour in the morning. Before any of the over-excited children could wake up. Before even the sun was out. He made Tony throw on thick layers before sneaking him out the back of the door. He guided Tony, who was slumped into his side, hating that he was woken up so early. He had tried to protest to this cruel moment. It was Christmas, he should be able to actually sleep. Stephen rolled his eyes, bringing them to the barn and opening the doors.

He had made sure everything was in order before waking Peter and Tony up, just so this could be sped along and all that. In the barn two of the horses were already set up in their saddles and reigns, waiting for their riders.

"Stephy, I know I said I wanted to ride horses, but did it have to be this early in the morning?" Tony yawned, looking at the large animals, who whinnied as if they too didn't want to be doing this so early. Stephen rolled his eyes, holding out a hand to help his short lover up on his saddle. Stephen was only worried for a moment that Tony's tiredness would make him fall out of the saddle, but that didn't happen. Tony wasn't a stranger for long nighters and early mornings, becoming alert and sensible when needed. Stephen walked to the other horse. These weren't the horses he grew up with. Those horses were long gone.

"Your's is named Cocoa, and Mine is Butterscotch." Stephen said. "Now, stay close." 

They began their ride, going at a nice trot. Pleasant silence consumed them as they made their way towards a trail in the woods. Tony was about to make a comment about this being a good situation to get murdered, only to catch his breath. Blue illuminate orbs lined the trail, giving the snowy ground a magical feel. It sounded stupid, since his actual boyfriend WAS magic, him being the reason of the magic lights, but it still... it was different. It was straight from a winter wonderland fairy-tale.

"Oh Wow." Tony breathed.

The ride wasn't a long one, but it wasn't an unsatisfying short either. They made it to the top of a hill, out of the woods. It opened up, and as they stopped the first glints of the sunrise came from the open, snow-laden horizon.

"Oh wow." Tony repeated. It was beautiful. He turned to Stephen, tears prickling behind his eyes. "You're family was right."

"What?" Stephen asked, looking at Tony as a tear started down his cheek.

"I really don't deserve you. You do so much for me. You came to your house even though you knew it wasn't going to be good. You take time out of your day for me. You sacrifice your life for me. You gave away the Time stone for me. And what do I do? Nothing. I can't even get you a good enough Christmas gift." Tony sniffled, hands tightening on his reigns, and for a second Stephen thought he would ride the horse away from him. But that wasn't Tony. He didn't hide, he was too confrontational.

"Tony, I don't care about material things like Christmas gifts. You give so much to me. So much that I could never repay you. I couldn't even start. You make me want to be a better person, and give me the strength to do so. You try so hard, and even when you make mistakes, you try even harder to fix them. You do what you want. And when you put your mind to something, you don't stop until your satisfied. And you find the joy in everything, something I've never been good at. You and Peter, your my family. And I could never give you enough for this gift you've given me. I love you, Tony. I'm the one that doesn't deserve you." Stephen cupped Tony's face into his hands, using his shaking, scared thumb to wipe away Tony's tears.

"I love you too." Tony took a stuttering breathe.

They stayed on the hill on their horses for a while longer before turning back. They snuck back into the house, going back to bed.

Christmas didn't start until nine in the morning, when all the kids woke up, and woke up all the grown-ups. Peter was the only kid under twelve that wasn't tripping over themselves. He hung off of Tony back, because apparently Tony and Stephen weren't sneaky at all, and it had woken Peter up when they left and came back. Beverly had made sure to get a present for everyone that came. The more she knew the person, the more personalized the gift was. No one really cared though. Peter was too tired to put up toddler pretenses, unwrapping his gift. It was a large, throw blanket with the night sky as the pattern. Peter gave his thanks, wrapping up in the gift, purring at the warmth.

"He said he always got cold, and I didn't think he was much a toy-kid." Donna whispered to Stephen as she sat down next to him, handing over his gift.

"He seems happy." Stephen agreed.

"Open that on your own." Donna whispered. "Oh, Tony this is yours." She handed over a box. Tony tore into the wrapping to find a box with a shoe brand that he was vaguely familiar with. He'd seen it somewhere, or heard people talking about it. Or maybe just Pepper. Probably from Pepper. He opened up the box, looking at the shoes inside. "The girls pitched in. It was Bridget's idea, though I think she meant it to be rude.

Stephen leaned over. They were heels pink straps to secure the toes and an X of pink to hold the shoe to the ankle. A transparent, glass-like spike of a heel that connected to transparent platform to the balls of the foot. It was elegant, beautiful.

"I'm gonna be tall." Tony whispered. Shutting the box, his cheeks beginning to match his hair. "Uh, thank you, Donna. You are truly a magical being."

Stephen excused himself to the bathroom to open his own present. He sat on the toilet, unwrapping the paper to find a cardboard box. Opening that, and two things were in it. One was a letter, and the other was a dark velvet box.

'I didn't know what to get you, Stephen.' The letter began in his mother's writing. 'You had changed so much since the last time we were in contact. It wasn't until this morning. I've always watched the sunset, and in my old age, I still do. So I was there this morning, and I heard what you said. I kept thinking about what your father meant to me. I kept thinking about the life you've built with us. A young man, happy, smiling, who opens up and enjoys every second of his day as long as he's with another man compared to the bitter, angry, uncaring man who was a doctor, who had money and success, and a girl. I may not understand. I may go to a church that believes that this isn't right. But I know my family. I believe my family should be happy, and if that means you being with Tony and raising Peter. Then I want you to know, I love you, and that I'll always support you, even though it might take a moment to realize that I need to. So whenever your ready to have a family, with a man, with a woman, or anyone, I'll always support you, sweetie. - Love, your mama.'

It was Stephen's turn to wipe away some stray tears. He slowly opened up the velvet box, and choked. It was his mom's engagement ring. It was old, but still sparkled like a new beginning. Stephen put the box in his pocket, putting a spell on it so it wouldn't get lost or stolen. He dried his face, making sure he looked presentable before going back out. He gave his mom a tight hug, catching her off guard for only a second. No words were exchanged, but none were needed. After a moment he went back to Tony.

"Hey you ok?" Tony asked, noticing the slight red-rims of Stephen's eyes.

"Always." Stephen pressed a kiss to Tony's forehead. "Especially with you."

\-----

The next day, and Peter, Tony and Stephen were back on the road. Stephen was driving, Peter was a sleep, and Tony scrolling throw his phone, frowning.

"Do we really have to go back to the Compound?" Tony asked, shifting in his chair uncomfortably. "Your family was rude, but it was better than the Rogues."

"I've been thinking about that." Stephen said after a moment. "When we were watching the sun set, at one point I thought you would run away, but realized that's not really you. And then I realized that... well, you've been hiding and running away from Rogers and his team. I think it's why you've been extra on edge lately. You've always thrived when you faced a problem head on. So I think you should do that."

"Confront Rogers." Tony pursed his lips in thought. "And you'll be there too, right?"

"Like you could get rid of me that easily. But, you got my parents to change their opinion on you by letting Peter do what he does best, and following his example. You talked. Even if it wasn't about the problem, you fixed things, made them better. Because that's who you are Tony. You make things the best when you're not worried about what will happen." Stephen glanced at Tony, who was blushing fiercely.

"Alright, We'll go to the compound. And you'll start over. But I gotta do something first." Tony smirked, looking down at his new shoe-box.

\------

"What UP BITCHES!" Tony burst throw the doors to the room that everyone was in, strutting in wearing his new shoes, looking like a sexy hoe who was about to throw down.

"Why are you wearing heels?" Clint asked, snickering.

"Fuck you, that's why!" Tony turned around and walked out. Leaving all of them really confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I just wanted to say that everyone who comments is so amazing. Everyone who even reads this far is so amazing. Cause I've had this idea in my head for a long time about Peter, Tony and Stephen being de-aged, and have tried to write it multiple times. But always just trashed the works cause I didn't think anyone would be interested in it. And I've been proven wrong so many times.
> 
> So thank you for even considering my idea for a second and continuing with it even though there are spelling and grammar mistakes.
> 
> Also the last bit was a bit of Meme!Lord Tony, cause I just had too. And People have been asking for it... So Merry Christmas.
> 
> Also I would like some prompts please, I've run dry (other than the meme!lord, but I'm slow-burning that one)


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